Saturday, March 21, 2009

Welcome to my Crusade

cru·sadePronunciation: \krü-ˈsād\Function: nounEtymology: blend of Middle French croisade & Spanish cruzada; both ultimately from Latin cruc-, crux crossDate: circa 17081.capitalized : any of the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from the Muslims2: a remedial enterprise undertaken with zeal and enthusiasm(www.m-w.com)

I've always been inspired by real bloggers. Not just people who use their blog as a journal, like I have before now, but people who actually use their blog to send information to the people. The only problem I've had is finding some theme I could passionately blog about without getting bored.

Now don't expect me to just post about bra fashion and vicky's secret and all that crap (her secret is silicone by the way). My passion is for properly fitted bras and bras in a wider range of sizes than most American department stores would dream of carrying.

Let's start with how I got into this obsession...

I have my mother's chest, which equals big. About 2 or 3 years ago, hard to remember now, I was getting rather fed up with the 38DDs I was wearing. I couldn't wait to get my bra off when I got home from work each day. My twins actually hurt when taking the bras off. So I started doing some online research.

I figured out that I wasn't wearing the right size of bra, but how could I find anything bigger than a DD? The answer was Dillards and Nordstroms, at first. I checked a bunch of sites and asked around in my LiveJournal community for big chested women, and figured out about what my size should be. Then I went to Dillards and started trying on bras. I let the girl there help me, but I had pretty much found my size - a 36G.

I left Dillards with 4 new bras, all the same style but different colors. My life changed that day. No, really, it did. Even my husband noticed that the twins didn't hurt when I took my bras off.

Then I found my favorite bra store, Intimate Designs in Independence, MO (http://www.intimatedesignsonline.com/). My friend Laura referred me, and I am forever grateful. Not only do they have the most amazing selection of bras in my size, but you get a personal fitting each time you go in, and they will alter bras to fit you perfectly! This is ideal for women who have a more noticeable size difference between boobs, or any other body issues which make finding a good bra difficult. They even carry swimsuits and some sexy lingerie.

From there, the obsession began. I have always been a people watcher, but now I will critique how a woman's bra fits. I've even convinced some of my friends to get fitted, and a few were surprised at the size they ended up buying.

Since my initial fitting, I have lost some weight and now where around a 34G to H, depending on the style of bra.

At this point, you're probably wondering what the point of this blog would be. Well, I want other women to learn to love their boobs the way I have learned to love mine, and a huge part of loving my boobs came with finding pretty bras that make my boobs look good. My plan is to fill this blog with info on bras, how to fit bras, and even what I have learned on altering bras. I will try to do bra reviews and bra store reviews, and maybe just some funny bra stories. I will share all I know and learn on caring for your bras and your boobs.

I also want women to not be afraid of their breasts, and help stomp down the myth that big breasted women are stupid. Yes, the stereotype does exist.

But we will save that for later posts. I think I've said enough for today.

A friend directed me here since I have shared the same shopping frustrations. I thought I would offer another bra to try for exercising-the X-bra. It's the first bra I can wear for running without doubling up. Little expensive, about $50, but totally worth it. I can run miles in it and there is minimal bounce, minimal mushing into the uni-boob, no digging into the shoulders.

Great blog and a great resource! A book you might enjoy: The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order (by Karp & Stoller)

About Me

I'm a 30 something Army wife that is obsessed with bras, running, and Dr. Who. Well, and my pets. I have a fondness for researching things online, which bleeds over into all I do. I worked for a while as a bra fitter and have been researching them for the past 7 or so years. Ask me a question about bras and you get a novel.